You will move to a new city for work. You know some people who live there. Write a letter to someone you know who lives there. In your letter: - ask them for help in finding accommodation - tell them where you would like to live - tell them the type of place you are looking for
Sample Response
Dear Mr & Mrs Williams, You would be happy to hear that I have recently been offered a job in Brisbane and I would move into the South Bank area soon. It would be an absolute delight to live in your city as I would be able to frequently meet you. I would like to ask if you can help me find a living place before I arrive. I believe you could help me to find somewhere to live in as you have a wide social circle. Ideally, I would like to live close to my workplace which happens to be in the Bank area in Brisbane. If this is not possible, my second preference is the downtown district. As I do exercise regularly, it would be great to be near a park too. Obviously, I will be looking for a flat, rather than a house, as it is just going to be me and I won’t be able to afford too much. So, a place with one bedroom is fine, but I would like to have a private bathroom, a kitchen. I would prefer to live somewhere new, so anything in a modern apartment block would be great. I look forward to meeting you soon. Yours sincerely, Alan Martin
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use formal conjunction Original: Mr & Mrs Williams Suggested revision: Mr and Mrs Williams Why it matters: Writing out the conjunction is more appropriate in a formal salutation.
- 2. Use future certainty Original: would Suggested revision: will Why it matters: Use 'will' for the expected reaction to definite news.
- 3. Correct future form Original: I would move Suggested revision: I will be moving Why it matters: The move is a definite future arrangement, so the future continuous is suitable here.
- 4. Place adverb naturally Original: able to frequently meet you Suggested revision: able to meet you frequently Why it matters: Placing the frequency adverb after the verb phrase sounds more natural.
- 5. Use natural phrase Original: living place Suggested revision: place to live Why it matters: 'Place to live' is the standard expression for accommodation.
- 6. Remove extra preposition Original: somewhere to live in Suggested revision: somewhere to live Why it matters: The preposition is unnecessary after 'somewhere to live'.
- 7. Keep location consistent Original: the Bank area in Brisbane Suggested revision: the South Bank area of Brisbane Why it matters: This should match the South Bank location named earlier in the letter.
- 8. Use simple present Original: do exercise regularly Suggested revision: exercise regularly Why it matters: The auxiliary 'do' adds unnecessary emphasis in this context.
- 9. Join list correctly Original: private bathroom, a kitchen Suggested revision: private bathroom and a kitchen Why it matters: Use 'and' to coordinate the final two desired facilities.
- 10. Use warmer wording Original: absolute delight Suggested revision: great pleasure Why it matters: This wording sounds more natural in a letter to people you know.
- 11. Make request direct Original: I would like to ask if you can help me find Suggested revision: Could you please help me find Why it matters: A polite direct request makes the main purpose immediately clear.
- 12. Clarify relative clause Original: my workplace which happens to be Suggested revision: my workplace, which is Why it matters: The non-defining detail needs a comma and can be stated more concisely.
Suggested Rewrites
- Mr & Mrs Williams Mr and Mrs Williams
- would will
- I would move I will be moving
- able to frequently meet you able to meet you frequently
- living place place to live
- somewhere to live in somewhere to live
Why this response received Band 7.5
The letter fully addresses the accommodation request with clear preferences for location, size, facilities, and style, while maintaining a warm and suitably respectful tone. Its main limitation is occasional awkward or imprecise phrasing, compounded by presenting all ideas in one paragraph. The highest-priority improvement is to organise the request into distinct paragraphs and replace unnatural expressions with more idiomatic wording.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The purpose is clear, all three bullet points are fully covered, and the details and tone suit a letter to acquaintances.
Make the request even more precise by clarifying the apparent distinction between South Bank and the workplace's Bank area.
Coherence and Cohesion
Ideas progress logically from the move and request to location preferences and accommodation specifications, with effective linking throughout.
Separate the opening, location preferences, and property requirements into clear paragraphs to strengthen organisation.
Lexical Resource
The letter uses a good range of vocabulary for housing, location, and personal preferences, though a few collocations sound unnatural.
Replace phrases such as living place and somewhere to live in with the more idiomatic accommodation and somewhere to live.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex and simple structures is used with strong control, and the few errors do not impede meaning.
Polish minor structures, especially using will rather than would for the planned move and coordinating the facilities list cleanly.
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IELTS General Training Writing Task 1
You will move to a new city for work. You know some people who live there. Write a letter to someone you know who lives there. In your letter:
- ask them for help in finding accommodation
- tell them where you would like to live
- tell them the type of place you are looking for
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.